TOKYO, July 17. /TASS/. At least 15 new coronavirus cases have been reported among people associated with the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the organizing committee of the Olympics announced on Saturday.

The infected include seven employees working at Olympic venues, two journalists, and six people associated with the competition. Among the latter is the man who became the first infected in the territory of the Olympic Village in Tokyo - he was reported to be a member of a foreign national team but was not an athlete.

So far, coronavirus has been detected in athletes and team members from several countries who have arrived in Japan. It was found in athletes from Israel, Uganda, and Serbia, as well as the support staff of the national teams of Nigeria and Russia.

Six days before the start of the competition in Tokyo, the situation with coronavirus remains difficult: the daily increase in the number of new cases detected in the Japanese capital is at over 1,000. From July 12 the emergency regime was once introduced in Tokyo due to the worsening epidemiological situation and will last until August 22.

The Tokyo Olympics were supposed to take place from July 24 to August 9, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the competitions were postponed for a year, now they will be held from July 23 to August 8. The organizers decided to hold the competition without foreign fans, local spectators will also not be allowed to the Olympic events in six Japanese prefectures, including Tokyo.